U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, NOAA FISHERIES ISSUE REGULATIONS
TO IMPROVE ENDANGERED SPECIES CONSULTATION PROCESS FOR PEST CONTROL
PRODUCTS

The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries today finalized
new regulations establishing for the first time a more efficient approach
to ensure protection of threatened and endangered species as part
of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s approval process
for pest control products. The regulations were developed following
a comprehensive scientific review of EPA’s risk assessment methodology.

The
improved review procedures, developed in cooperation with EPA and
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will provide a workable and efficient
framework to ensure necessary measures are taken to protect fish and
wildlife. At the same time, the procedures will ensure that farmers
have the pest-control products they need to grow food, consumers can
continue to use household disinfectants and lawn care products, and
mosquito control products will continue to be available for use by
public health authorities.

Under
the Endangered Species Act, EPA must consult with the Services to
ensure that registration of products under the Federal Insecticide,
Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is not likely to jeopardize
the continued existence of federally listed threatened or endangered
species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical
habitat.

The
two services proposed the regulations in January and received extensive
public comment.

Because
of the complexity of consultations to examine the effects of pest-control
products, there have been almost no consultations completed in the
past decade. A recent court decision has cited the lack of consultations
in limiting the use of essential agricultural pest-control products.

Under
existing law, EPA routinely evaluates the broad impact of pest-control
products on the environment, including the effects on endangered species
and other non-target organisms. Before proposing this rule, scientists
and regulators within the Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries
spent a year conducting an extensive review of EPA’s approach
to ecological risk assessment and offered recommendations that EPA
has incorporated.

Based
on this scientific review, together with an understanding of EPA’s
considerable scientific expertise, the Fish and Wildlife Service and
NOAA Fisheries concluded that EPA’s approach to risk assessment
will produce determinations that reliably assess the effects of these
products on listed species and critical habitat.

"This
is the first administration to address a long-standing need to create
a workable framework to protect species, ranging from salmon to butterflies
and songbirds, ensuring that the potential effects of thousands of
pest-control products are examined in a timely and comprehensive manner,”
Service Director Steve Williams said. “At the same time, we
are making sure that farmers can continue to provide abundant food
for our country and that consumers can continue to use many popular
household and garden products.’”

“The
two agencies completed a scientific review of EPA’s risk assessment
process, and concluded it allows EPA to make accurate assessments
of the likely effects of pesticides on threatened and endangered species,”
said Bill Hogarth,
assistant administrator, NOAA Fisheries. “We’ve worked
with EPA to make sure that this new process will help eliminate the
chances of pesticides harming threatened and endangered species. This
approach will allow the Services to focus their resources on those
consultations that will have the greatest benefit for the species.
I am very pleased that we are able to help expedite the pesticide
review process.”

“Today’s
final regulations, if implemented appropriately, will greatly improve
the science-based decision-making process for protecting endangered
species,” said Susan B. Hazen, EPA’s principal deputy
assistant administrator for prevention, pesticides, and toxic substances.
“This successful collaboration between the services and EPA
will lead to stronger protections for endangered species faster.”

“Agricultural
producers are the first-line conservationists. We applaud the proposed
efficiencies in this rule as a way to protect the health of our families
and neighbors while we continue to provide food for our communities.
The new consultation process compliments our efforts to reduce the
potential impacts of pest management activities on wildlife as well
as soil, water and air quality,” said Bruce Knight, USDA’s
chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

As
finalized, these counterpart regulations will allow:

By
using the most sophisticated scientific methodologies available
to protect wildlife from potential pesticide risks, EPA could determine
that the use of a pest-control product is “not likely to adversely
affect” a listed species or its critical habitat without either
concurrence of the Services or informal consultation. The wildlife
agencies would perform periodic reviews of the methods that EPA
employs to arrive at these determinations to ensure EPA is making
determinations that are consistent with the requirements of the
ESA.

When
formal consultation is required, EPA may utilize an optional procedure
to develop a determination of the effects of the pest-control product
on listed species for the Services’ review. The procedure
also allows EPA to request direct involvement of representatives
of the Services in the effects analysis. As required by law, the
Services would make the final determination whether threatened or
endangered species are likely to be jeopardized by a FIFRA action.

Manufacturers
register a wide variety of products, ranging from agricultural pesticides
to commonly used household products, which are regulated under FIFRA.
As a result of EPA's ongoing reevaluation of previously registered
pest-control products, as well as the recent litigation, the three
agencies anticipate a significant increase in the number of future
consultations.